Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic Management - Essay Example 1-13). The different strategies are analyzed and their sustainability evaluated. Also, recommendations and justification are given for other relevant strategies. Discussion The Samsung Electronics has been involved in accumulation of knowledge over the last few decades. However, the company is facing tough competition from other companies. The increase in the overseas production has impacted on the strategic response in Korea. The production network in Samsung extends beyond the ASEAN region through to China and India. Ration of the overseas production to the total production has in the recent years increased sharply. The competition is intense towards the cost-driven struggle for the low-end markets (Leachman & Jeenyoung 2002, p. 61-77). The three major electronics producers in Korea; Samsung, Daewoo and Goldstar, have expressed their intention in increasing the overseas production. By early 1990s, the Samsung Electronics performed an organization integration meant to increase the c oordination between the marketing, production and research across and within the product lines. By 1992, the multiple product sectors were fully under the control of Kim Kwang Ho, who was the CEO and the head of the semiconductor operation. The company started initiating more radical reforms by mid 1993 who improved the dissemination of knowledge within the group. The semi-conductor sector enhanced the technological synergy in other related businesses. For instance, the production of the DRAM technology led to the precision of the Samsung electronics leading to significant improvement in technology. The product design capability is an important strategy by Samsung to enhance the internationalization of production where the low-value-added goods were produced while new products prevented hollowing out of production in Korea. The increased changes of the competition conditions increased the difficulties in foreign licensing and the designs turned out to be very complex. Samsung began acquiring some new capabilities through direct acquisition of foreign firms. The R&D operations in Samsung have been continually centralized Samsung Electronics had strategized on the release of new devices to expand the line-up based on the conditions in the market. This was to prevent overreliance on the android Platform from Google. This sought for the reduction of dependency on Android (Bong & Jinjoo 2004, p. 16). The company produces TFT monitors with the corporate customers being in mind. This strategy necessitates an approach where the company identifies potential markets among the business users whose employees have a high likelihood of spending long hours on a computer screen. The company also targets other markets such as the high street shops that use TFTs for the point of sale terminals. The company uses the radical market strategy to encourage high purchases of their products. The head office in Korea has played a crucial role in introducing strong brand awareness as we ll as instilling good product perceptions. Assessing the sustainability of this strategy, the company has been able to realize high profiles as well as creating high profile for their brand (Chung & Karen 2009, p. 20-27). Samsung Electronics is relatively new in mobile communications. Having established in CDMA markets in Korea and USA, Samsung has decided to incorporate global

Classmates Evaluation Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Classmates Evaluation - Personal Statement Example Donald Brown: At first, Donald seems to be just an ordinary classmate with nothing really special about him. However, as time went by I notice a characteristic which sets him apart from a typical student. Different from the rest of us, I can say that he has deep sense of responsibility making him punctual in submitting individual requirements and his tasks for group projects. Arosha Desilva: Arosha is one of a kind and deviates from my expectations of what a typical guy should be like. First of all, he disproves my misconception that organization is out of a man's vocabulary. Seeing his lecture notebook and handouts for the first time, am amazed at how systematic he can be. Second, I always thought women should be nurturing and men should be authoritative. But not with him-having him in my group is an honor because he was always there to support me especially at times when I am losing my confidence. His calm personality enables him to manage stress and helps me focus on the job at hand. This trait stood out while we were on the process of writing the report and juggling it with our other individual requirements. Lastly, who says all guys are more tech savvy than girls Well, everyone has his own set of strengths and weaknesses. Computer skill is definitely not of Arosha's strong points. Sean Detorres: Sean Sean Detorres: Sean is someone I can never forget in this class. I admire him for his helpfulness and sincerity. Being on the same team as a compiler with him, I have seen how transparent he is with his feelings. Among my group mates, there have been instances that Sean and I have dissenting opinions about matters. I have to admit that I sometimes find his opinion rather irrational and unprofessional. I do appreciate how Sean shows his true feeling of disagreement on me, because it made me realized my flaws. However, I do wish Sean could have come up and talk with me in person and let me know what he is experiencing from me instead of just showing his dislike. I am thinking that maybe he is not just that vocal and has problems verbally communicating his feelings and emotions thus, he just resort on showing them. This is a room for improvement for him. I believe that he should work on his communication skills in order for him to effectively and professionally deal with his colleagues. Joshua Feng: I can say that Joshua has two good points-he is very smart as well as very articulate. During the class, he has been able to show his knowledge and skills in tackling different topics. I believe that these capabilities are really exceptional. I have noted that even though some people are smart, they do not have the capacity to share what they know. This is not the case with Joshua-he s knowledgeable and is very willing and articulate to communicate what he knows. However, I should also add that he is lazy and like to procrastinate at times. Well this can be justified by his efficiency and adeptness which enables him to tackle tasks in no time. When he starts doing his work, I am amazed how at fast and well written he is. Without his laziness, I am sure he will become a influential leader.

The Impact Of Implicit Followership

The Impact Of Implicit Followership Gap on Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Quality: A Followership Approach We are often enamoured with heroic leadership, attracted to individuals known for their character, who meet challenges and overcome adversity with their charisma (1-SAF article). But we often forget, without followersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Napolean would have been just a man with grandiose ambitions (Lee, 1991, p. 2). While leadership has been viewed as a reciprocal relationship between leaders and followers rather than purely leader-centric, (Hollander, xxxx or 12-SAF article), the huge academic literature on leadership has focused mainly on the leaders characteristics, selection, development, and their contributions to organisational success (for review, see Avolio, Walumbwa Weber, 2009). In the words of Lord, Brown and Freiberg, the follower remains an under-explored source of variance in understanding leadership processes(p. 167, 11, -SAF article). Followers are integral to the leadership process (Marion Uhl-Bien, 2001). Yet, their influence is often either downplayed or neglected. The emphasis on leaders over followers has resulted in companies spending 80 percent of their time and research efforts focusing on the 20 percent within organizations, while spending barely 20 percent of their time and energy with the other 80 percent (Uken, in Riggio et al., 2008 book). Consider the huge resources allocated for leadership development that stand in stark contrast to the absence of plans for followership training. The 2003 United States Training Industry Study revealed 85% of U.S. companies offer leadership training to their employees (Gavin, 2003). The financial costs of leadership training alone is approximately US$6,000 to US$7,500 per participant annually (Delahoussaye, 2001). For large corporations, the amount can add up to millions of dollars (Brown, Eager, Lawrence, 2005). In addition, most training budgets support only 20 percent (leaders) in the organization, overlooking the training needs of the other 80 percent (followers). Moreover, many leaders in organizations have followership roles too. Managers at different points in their careers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ play both roles, though seldom equally well (Kelley, 1988, p. 142). Organizations must recognise a good leader or a good follower requires both leadership and followership, and should aim to develop both in its employees. Research objectives This study aims to examine LMX quality from a followership approach. This study would be the first to examine the followership expectation gap in LMX quality. How do Implicit Followership Theories (IFTs) impacts the leader-member exchange (LMX) quality in a dyadic relationship? How does the followership expectation gap, or the gap between leaders IFT and the actual followers behaviour, affect the leader-member exchange (LMX) quality? The Followership Approach Follower-centric approaches to leadership (Meindl, 1995, p. 330) considers how followers view their leaders and their leaders behaviours. Nonetheless, they are still primarily leader-centric (Shamir, Pillai, Bligh, Uhl-Bien, 2007). On the other hand, followership approach or follower-based approach (Graen Uhl-Bien, 1995, p. 223) considers how followers view their own behaviours and roles when engaging with leaders (Uhl-Bien Pillai, 2007). Followership explores how followers behaviours are related to organizational outcomes, e.g. leadership, and the follower becomes the primary focus. Thus, with its focus on the less celebrated role of followers, the followership approach helps reverse the lens (Shamir, 2007) in leadership research. The traditional perspective of the passive follower, characterised by the attributes of conformity and docility, has been increasingly replaced by the active follower, who is courageous to shape the outcome of leadership in todays organizational context (SAF article). Good followership involves subordinates who can think independently, send supervisors honest and truthful massages, and implement difficult decisions (Lundin, Lancaster, Gardner, 1990). In the contemporary context where team work, knowledge workers, and shared leadership is emphasized, good followership skills have never been more important. Indeed, having exemplary, courageous, and star followers is regarded as a precondition for organizational success (Chaleff, 2003; Kelley, 1992). Leader-Member Exchange Unlike leadership theories that contend that leaders have a predominant leadership style and tend to treat all their followers in a similar fashion, the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory (Dansereau, Graen, Haga, 1975) states that leaders form unique exchange relationships of different quality with each of their followers. Here, the dyadic relationship is seen as reciprocal.The role of the follower is informally negotiated between followers and their leaders over time (Graen Uhl-Bien, 1995). Regarding the development of the relationship, leader-follower relationships are thought to be initiated through an initial offer from the leader, which then is potentially reciprocated by the follower (Graen, 2003). After this initial phase, in which the follower can prove him- or herself, the relationship continues with a reciprocation of contributions, that is, a reciprocation of positive actions that foster the relationship by fulfilling the other partys needs. Put differently, depending on the leaders perception of the followers contribution, the leader will feel more or less indebted to reciprocate with an own contribution until he or she perceives an equilibrium of contributions. At this stage, the follower perceives the contribution of the leader and has to decide whether he or she needs to adjust his or her own contribution, etc. As long as either of the parties still perceives that an equilibrium of contributions is not reached, the relationship is still dynamic, that is, i t can either deteriorate (when a party perceives the other to contribute less than him- or herself and thus also lowers his or her own contributions), or it can thrive (when a party perceives the other to contribute more than him- or herself and thus also increases his or her own contributions). Indeed, relationships are found to be more satisfying and thus stable when a party perceives the contributions to be almost equal or the other party to contribute more (Buunk, Doosje, Jans, Hopstaken, 1993). Contrary, a lack of reciprocation by the other party will lead people to experience negative feelings, especially when they feel that they themselves have contributed a lot to the relationship (Walster, Walster, Berscheid, 1978). Summarizing, the stability of a relationship depends on perceived reciprocation of ones own contributions by the other (Blau, 1964; Burgess Huston, 1979) and the relationship can be considered stable when both parties perceive each other as contributing an ap proximately equal amount. Leadership effectiveness is related to the quality of the dyadic relationship between the leader and follower (van Breukelen, Schyns, LeBlanc, 2006). A high quality exchange relationship is characterized by mutual trust, respect, and liking (Dansereau et al., 1975). The quality of dyadic relationship has been found to be positively related to organizational outcomes (Ilies, Nahrgang, Morgeson, 2007). Specifically, followers in high quality LMX relationships work harder (Basu Green, 1997), perform better (Vecchio Norris, 1996), experience more satisfaction with the leader (Schriesheim Gardiner, 1992), experience more job satisfaction (Scandura Graen, 1984), and are less motivated to leave the team or organization (Vecchio Norris, 1996). Implicit Followership Theories Leaders and followers alike rely on implicit theories to process social information and make social judgements (Lord and Maher, 1991). Implicit Follower Theories (IFTs) help to advance our understanding of leadership by placing the focus on followers and examining leaders cognitions (Avolio et al., 2009). IFTs are cognitive schemas which represent the traits and behaviors that characterize followers (Rosenberg Jones, 1972). Just like Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs) are used to understand how leaders are viewed, IFTs can be used to understand how followers are perceived. IFTs are most accurately represented by Followership Prototype and Antiprototype (Sy, 2010). Followership Prototype is defined as industry, enthusiasm, and good citizen, while Followership Antiprototype is defined as conformity, insubordination, and incompetence. It is noteworthy to mention Engle and Lord (1997) proposed leaders develop prototypes of effective followers, called Implicit Performance Theories, and then compare follower performance to this prototype (cf. Borman, 1987; Sanders, 1999; Wernimont, 1971). Thes comparison process leads to the labelling of followers as either effectively or ineffectively contributing to relationship. However, IPTs are restricted to followers performance, whereas the cognitive schemata for IFTs include a diverse set of attributes that would reflect on the overall quality of the relationship (e.g., being honest, enthusiastic, or trustworthy). IFTs are broader than Implicit Performance Theories and therefore better capture the range of behaviours and characteristics that followers may be expected to contribute to the LMX relationship. IFT and LMX IFTs serve as benchmarks from which individuals interpret, understand, and respond to followers, and predispose individuals to judge and respond to followers in a particular way (Engle Lord, 1997). Indeed, leaders have different follower-schemas that predispose them to interpret events differently, which results different behaviors toward the followers (Goodwin et al., 2000). This is expected as implicit theories affect judgments and behaviors as they operate on the levels of conscious and unconscious information processing (van Gils et al., 2010). Leaders who have more positive IFTs may behave differently towards followers than leaders who have more negative IFTs (McGregor, 1960). Differences in leaders behaviors towards followers, as a function of their IFTs should impact leader-follower interpersonal outcomes such as liking for leaders and followers, relationship quality, etc. Individuals engage in a matching process of comparing their IFTs with a follower and based on the degree of congruence, individuals form an impression of followers that subsequently shapes their behaviors towards followers. Leaders with proactive constructions of followership may become very frustrated by followers who act consistent with passive constructions; leaders with passive constructions may view proactive followers as pushy, insubordinate and disrespectful Passive followers may find it difficult to work with leaders who have a proactive construction of followership; proactive followers may find authoritarian leaders old school and highly ineffective IFT and Followership Expectation Gap If the process of comparison between actual behaviour and implicit leadership theory exists for leaders, it thus seems only plausible to assume that there is an equivalent implicit theory for the follower. Indeed, Van Gil posits, from the leaders perspective, a match between perceived follower behaviour and leaders IFTs will lead the leader to evaluate the LMX quality more favourably. From the followers perspective, a match between own behaviour and IFT will lead to the perception of higher own contribution to the relationship. The followership expectation gap is the difference between IFT and actual follower behavior. According to Saltz (2004), When a followers behavior match the leaders IFT, the leader is likely to be satisfied with the follower. This minimizes the leadership expectation gap. t is expected that leaders are likely to develop commitment to the organization the leader represents. However, if the followers characteristics contradict the leaders expectations, the leaders are likely to experience dissatisfaction and this will undermine commitment to the organization (Saltz, 2004). Sy (2010) found leaders Followership Prototype was positively related to follower outcomes, namely liking for leaders, relationship quality with leaders, trust in leaders, and job satisfaction, while leaders Followership Antiprototype was negatively related to all follower outcomes. Hypotheses Leaders Followership Prototype would be expected to be positively related to LMX quality. Conversely, leaders Followership Antiprototype would be expected to be negatively related to LMX quality. In addition, the followership expectation gap would be expected to be negatively related to the LMX quality. Measures Participants would consist of middle Implicit Followership Theories would be assessed using Sys IFT scale. The IFT scale consists of 18 items measures six dimensions of Followership Prototype and Antiprototype. Followership Prototype consists of Industry, Enthusiasm, and Good Citizen, while Followership Antiprototype consist of Conformity, Insubordination, and Incompetence. Each dimension consists of three items. Leaders would be asked to rate how characteristic each item was for a follower. Responses would be measured with a five-point Likert scale, ranging from not at all characteristic to extremely characteristic. The scale has a Cronbachs ÃŽÂ ± of .70. To measure the quality of relationship between leaders and their subordinates, the Liden and Maslyns (1998) multi-dimensional model of leader-member exchange (LMX-MDM) scale was used. The LMX-MDM scale comprises of 12 items, and incorporates the dimensions of affect, loyalty, contribution and professional respect, with each dimension consisting of three items. Responses were measured using a five-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The Cronbachs ÃŽÂ ± for the scale was .90. The actual followers behaviour (AB) would be measured using the same scale for IFT. Leaders would be asked to rate the extent the items in the IFT scale truly describe the behaviour they see in their followers. Responses would be measured with a five-point Likert scale, ranging from not at all true to very true. Information on gender, age, work experience (in years), duration of leader-follower relationship (in years), job position and highest academic qualification would be obtained. To ensure response to the items measuring IFT does not affect the response to the items measuring the actual behaviour, the order of the questionnaires would be IFT, LMX then AB. Followership expectation gap would be obtained by computing the squared difference between the IFT score and actual follower behaviour score. LMX quality would be obtained by adding up all the LMX dimensions. The association between leadership expectation gap and LMX quality would be examined using Simple Regression Analysis. The effect of duration of leader-follower relationship would be controlled all analysis, as it is known to have a moderating effect on LMX (Graen Uhl-Bien, 1995). Reflections IFTs may advance our understanding of Leader Member Exchange (LMX) theory by illuminating how congruence in leaders and followers ILTs and IFTs may account for relationship quality, i.e., leaders and followers both have ILTs and IFTs that function as interpretation frameworks from which relationship quality is judged (van Gils et al., 2010).

Technology?s Downside Essay -- essays research papers

There is no doubt that technology has played a major roll in many people’s lives today. It has affected the way we perform our daily routine, communicate with people, and just about anything else that is done in a day and night. But most of the technology we have is thought of as a good thing. Actually it is not a positive for our world, its is bad for us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early days many people would have to get together to communicate and interact among each other. Today all we do is log onto our computers and interact in a cyber chat. The computer technology has cut down on actual human contact interaction. All the communication is performed through the Internet chat rooms and e-mails. Also, computers have hurt us in another way. Computers run everything in our world and if they break down nobody knows how to do the job the computer was doing manually. We have become dependent on the computers to make all things run like clock- work and keep us going. Nothing is done manually anymore which only complicates the process. The people have become ignorant on how actions are performed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another technology downside was the A-bomb. Its invention wound up killing large quantities of people. To go along with that, other weapons such as the automatic machine gun or laser guided missiles have been invented only to cause human death and mass destruction. Our war-like technology has only increased human casualties and lowered the fair fi...

Multiculturalism the problem today

In turn toing the essay inquiry Is Multiculturalism the job now ; I will be reasoning that it is a job now by giving sensible and valid justifications. I will be besides examine the single constructs and definitions of multiculturalism every bit good as touching somewhat on urban civilization, and show how these constructs are represented in today ‘s society with negatively. Harmonizing to Giddens ( 2001 ) civilization is defined as â€Å"the values, ceremonials and ways of life feature of a given group† . These values and norms can change and are slightly dependent on societal and cultural influences experienced by a peculiar group. One such peculiar group or civilization I will be looking at are Muslims and the decisions that Tariq Modood drew when measuring the after mat of the bombardments of 7/7. Other such groups or influences can in bend create the outgrowth of farther subcultures within mainstream civilization that can be identified and segmented by elements such as ethnicity, gender and faith, and in bend become subcultures which is defined as â€Å"meaning systems, manners of look or life styles developed by groups in low-level structural places in response to dominant significance systems, and which reflect their effort to work out structural contradictions originating from the wider social context† ( Brake: 1985: p8 ) . Subcultures harmonizing to Blake ( 1985 ) are different from one another because they each consist of three typical basicss they are â€Å"Image – visual aspect composed of costume, accoutrements such as hair – manner, jewelry and artifacts. Demeanour – made up of look, pace and position, for illustration what they were and how they wear it. Argot – a particular vocabulary and how it is delivered to work out structural contradictions originating from the wider social context† . ( Brake: 1985: p8 ) . Most theorist including Thornton ( 1995 ) have the same decision when specifying subcultures ; â€Å"Subcultural political orientations are a agencies by which youth imagine their ain and other societal groups assert their typical character and affirm that they are non anon. members of an uniform mass† . ( Thornton: 1995: p185 ) . When looking at subculture, Hebdige ( 1979 ) acknowledge â€Å"That familiar objects warrant analysis as marks and depositories of organized significances, as much linguistic or ‘pure ‘ ocular signal. Under the conceptual umbrella of subculture, he brings together art, literature, music, manner, and even attitude, and places these on the same analytical plane. ( McRobbie: 1994: p14-15 ) . Multiculturalism is normally defined as the acknowledgment of diverse cultural brotherhoods that applies to the demographic make-up of different topographic points or intuitions. The thoughts of multiculturalism are the interaction of diverse cultural civilizations that need to be respected and valued in mundane life. Pakulsk ( 1997 ) believes that multiculturalism can besides be translated as cultural citizenship, which is a combination of civil, political and societal rights. Cultural citizenship involves others admiting and accepting the demands and differences when set uping equal rights to suit these differences. ( Fulcher & A ; Scott: 2007 ) , which besides includes an person to show one ‘s ain individuality, instead than an individuality be forced onto them as society deem tantrum. Harmonizing to the Parekh study ( 2000 ) multiculturalism covers five single facets, which as follow:All persons have the right to be treated every bit, irrespective of gender, coloring material, ethnicity, faith and age.As Britain is a broad and multicultural society it needs to take into history the demands of other spiritual and cultural communities.Persons all have different demands which can non be ignored a unvarying signifier of intervention can non be applied has this will take to favoritism and equality.Each society needs to consistent and respectful of diverseness and alteration.That equal chances and self – development should be for all.The Parekh study ( 2000 ) besides goes on to province that adjust to coherence, equality and diverseness by using three different theoretical accounts the first being the Nationalist theoretical account which is when the province promotes a â€Å"single national culture† ( The Parekh Report: 2000 ) .Whereas the existent theore tical account is based on the fact that Britain is a homogenous society, which it is non because of its many at odds traditions. The 2nd theoretical account is that of the Liberal theoretical account which requires a â€Å"common political culture† ( The Parekh Report: 2000 ) . A difference of both the populace and private domains needs to be acknowledged within different communities, and non merely for the dominant civilization. Where as the dominant civilization is shown through linguistic communication, faith, values and ethical motives, which minorities do non experience that they can take part in as they are made to experience inferior. The last theoretical account is that of the pluralist theoretical account which focuses on â€Å"cultural diverseness is accommodated in the public realm† ( The Parekh Report: 2000 ) . In the theoretical account alteration and integrating is recognized and non merely tolerated. When specifying urban civilizations we are uniting a mixture of different metropoliss all over the Earth, that have certain behaviors and cultural basicss that are different from persons populating in rural countries. Urban civilization is â€Å"The metaphor for corporate life and the new infinite for researching both individuality and difference ( Jenks: 1993: p189 ) . The word urban is used in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada to exemplify hip hop civilization or a sub vision of black civilization. Caribbean civilization has â€Å"A distant societal and geographical footing and is the merchandise of a alone historical experience ( The Parekh Report: 2000: p29 ) . But Caribbean civilization has besides been diluted by other cultural influences such as â€Å"East Indian, British, Spanish, Gallic, Dutch, Portuguese and Chinese. It can non be traced back to one set of roots† ( The Parekh Report: 2000: p29 ) . In decision, modern-day Youth civilization chiefly relies on selling and consumerism, without assorted media formats i.e. the cyberspace, magazines, and record labels, wireless Stationss and music telecastings young persons would happen it difficult to emulate persons or follow manner tendencies and remain abreast with the latest technological promotion such as the development of societal networking sites viz. Facebook and Twitter. When the mainstream media is picturing youth civilization, multiculturalism and urban civilization, more frequently than non they are negatively reproduced or sensationalised to derive maximal impact in order to derive readers attending, therefore the positive facets of youth civilization is frequently ignored in favour sensationalisation. One such media mercantile establishment which is rather expert at this negative reproduction is the South London Press which preponderantly highlights violent offenses ( allegedly ) committed by black urban young persons in the South London locality. Then there is the Eastern Eye which is a publication that is circulated in the Asiatic communities of Hounslow and Southall in West London that focuses on ( allegedly ) offense that is committed by urban Asians young persons. This phenomenon could be attributed to market cleavage as publishing houses attempt to aim a specific section of a crowded market place with dwindling readership Numberss in order to derive limited market portion, in my position this effort by print media to derive market portion and increase circulation have resulted in them concentrating chiefly on negative sensationalised headlines and either intentionally or negligently take to disregard positive facets of youth civilization and in peculiar urban civilization.Bi bliographyBlake, M ( 1985 ) Comparative young person civilizations – The sociology of young person civilizations and young person subcultures in America, Britain and Canada, USA, Routledge and Kegan Paul Inc Fulcher, J & A ; Scott, J ( 2007 ) Sociology, Oxford University Press Giddens, A ( 2001 ) Sociology Fourth edition, Cambridge, Polity Press Haralambos, A ( 1983 ) Sociology a new attack, Polity Press Jenks, C ( 1993 ) Culture – Second Edition, Routledge Kidd, W, Kirby, M, Koubel, F, Barter, J Hope, T Kirton, A, Madry, N, Manning, P, and Triggs, K ( 1998 ) Reading sociology, Oxford, Heinemann educational publishing houses Longhurst, B ( 1995 ) Popular music and society, Cambridge, Polity imperativeness McRobbie, A ( 1994 ) Postmodernism and popular civilization, London, Routledge O ‘ Donnell, G ( 1993 ) Sociology today, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Representations and Youth, available at hypertext transfer protocol: //www.mediaed.org.uk/posted_documents/repsyouth.html The Parekh Report ( 2000 ) The Future of Multi- Ethnic Britain, Profile books Thornton, S ( 1997 ) The societal logic of subcultural capital { 1995 } .In K.Gelder and S Thornton Eds. , The subcultural reader. London, Routledge

Commercial Contracts Under Nigerian Legislation

COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS UNDER NIGERIAN LEGISLATION Introduction A contract is an agreement which is legally binding on the parties to it and which if broken may be enforced by action in court against the party that has broken it. A contract may be void or voidable. A void contract is that which lacks the essential ingredients or elements of valid contract and therefore of no legal effect. A voidable contract is that which is valid in the first place but may be ended at the instance of one of the parties to it.Such contracts include guarantee with a bank of money lender, hire purchase and sale or leasing of land. The legal consequences of non-compliance are that they are not enforceable at law though they are not necessarily void. However, some categories of contracts must of necessity be in writing or else they shall be void absolutely. These include transfer of shares, marine insurance and hire purchase agreements. As a general rule also, all contracts are in the nature of agreement: h owever, not all agreements may constitute a contract properly so called.For instance, an agreement for the sale of a parcel of land is intended to be binding and enforceable at law, whereas, an invitation to a luncheon which after all, did not hold may not be enforceable at the suit of the disappointed party. A contract may also be under-seal or by deed and may be simple or oral. It may be express when it is written or implied when it is inferred from the conduct and acts of the parties. In addition, there can be bilateral contract between two parties or multi-lateral contract among parties depending on the nature of obligations to be performed under the agreement.Condition and warranty are the two basic types of express terms in a contract. Whether a term is a condition or warranty depends on the intention of the parties. A condition is a vital term which goes to the root of the contract. Breach of a condition entitles the innocent party to repudiate the contract and to claim damag es. A warranty is a term which is subsidiary to the main purpose of the contract, breach of which only entitles the innocent party to damages. FORMATION OF A VALID CONTRACT The main requirements of a valid contract are as follows: 1. there must be an offer; . there must be an acceptance; 3. there must be consideration; 4. parties must have full contractual capacity; 5. there must be an intention to create legal relations; 6. object of the contract must not be unlawful nor illegal; 7. prescribed formalities must be followed, for example, it should be in writing or by deed. Forms of Contract Contract supported by consideration are essentially expected to be in writing,. It is however important to note that a contract may also be oral or implied and yet be binding on the parties depending on the peculiar circumstances.The fact remains that a contract may not be taken as being invalid or unenforceable for the mere fact that it is not in a written form. Te court would normally not assist any person who was lured into an oral agreement. Writing merely facilitates the interpretation or proving of the terms of the contract barring which it may not be all that necessary. In considering commercial contracts under Nigerian legislation however, we would evaluate three of such contracts which are: ? hire purchase; ?sale of goods; ?agency. AGENCY CONTRACT IntroductionAgency is a relationship that exists between two persons, one of whom expressly or impliedly agrees that the other should represent him or act on his behalf. The one that is represented is called the principal while the person representing or acting on somebody’s behalf is called Agent. Agency relationship involves the consent of the agent and the principal that one should act for the other. It thus arises from a contract or agreements express or implied. Ofodile v. Chinwuba Generally, the relationship of principal and agent may arise in three main ways: 1.By agreement , whether contractual or not expres s or implied in nature 2. By subsequent ratification by the principal of the agent’s act done on his behalf, and 3. By operation of law under the doctrine of necessity Whether or not an agency relationship exists would largely depend on the true nature of the agreement and the circumstances of the relationship between the principal and the agent. In another vein, the law of agency consists of the law of the employer and the employed, where the employment consists of bringing the employer into contractual relationship with the third party.This relationship is simply referred to as â€Å"The Master and Servant† relationship under the labour law and for which there is a vicarious liability. An agent should be distinguished for an independent contractor. An independent contractor is the person who negotiates with the third party on his own behalf. An independent contactor is a person liable to give contract for service while and agent or servant renders contract of service . An independent contractor is personally liable at law for his actions. An agent is not a trustee of the goods in his care not being the legal owner.The extent or scope of the Agent’s discretion is determined by his principal’s instructions. Legal title always remains in the principal. An agent can therefore not give good title all by himself. CLASSIFICATION OF AGENCY a. Special Agent: This is someone who has authority to do some particular act on behalf of his principal though not a continuous basis; for instance, a special order to purchase a house or a vehicle. b. General Agent: this is someone who has power to act for his principal in all matters involving business or trade, for example a solicitor or legal practitioner. . A Factor Agent: He is an agent who sells or disposes of goods that are entrusted to him. His activities are governed by the Factors Act 1889 (UK d. Broker Agent: He negotiates ad makes contract for the sale and purchase of goods. However unlike a factor he is not left in possession of the goods. Typical example is insurance Brokers and Stock Brokers. e. Universal Agent: This is someone who represents various principals in many aspects of trade. He is appointed by a Deed under Power of Attorney and has wide powers. f.Mercantile Agent: He represents someone in commercial and certain aspects of trade. Their duties are more or less similar to those of the factor agent g. Auctioneer: He represents a principal in the disposal of real properties. They are usually licensed to sell properties of Mortgagors who have defaulted in payment. Auctioneer acts between the Vendor and the purchaser. He receives commission and invariably sells to the highest bidder. h. Estate Agent: These deal in the acquisition of, valuation of an disposal of properties i.Del-Credere Agent: This is a mercantile agent who, in consideration of extra pay, that is del-credere commission guarantees to his principal that the 3rd party with whom he enters into cont ract on behalf of the principal shall duly pay the sum becoming due under the contract. In effect a del credere agent is a surety of the person with whom he deals. This is just a form of guarantee which may not necessarily be in writing in order to be enforceable at law. CREATION OF AGENCY It may be created in two broad ways namely: (a)Expressly and (b) impliedly a. Express Creation: . By deed – this involves issuing an authority in writing with the necessary instruction and attestation clauses. That is signed, sealed and delivered. This process is known as the granting a Power of Attorney. 2. Oral instruction – This is agency by appointment, it deals with express authorisation of the principal to the agent to act for him b. Implied Creation 1. Agency of necessity – This is created by act of person who normally had no authority but was compelled to reasonable act to protect the interest of the 3rd party especially during an emergency situation. 2.Agency by Estop pel: – This is a type of agency that can be inferred form the conduct of the parties. If the situation that exists suggests that parties want to create an agency relationship, either of the parties is stopped form denying the existence of such a relationship. 3. Apparent Agency – This occurs where a principal has not taken due precaution to prevent a situation where somebody portrays himself as having power to act as his agent. 4. Agency by ratification – This occurs where the principal having full knowledge of the fact, accepts the benefits of the contract entered into by his apparent agent.Any act whether lawful or unlawful may be ratified provided it is not void. If it is voidable it is still capable of being ratified as long as it is valid. In Brook v. Nook where an agent forged his principal’s signature on a promissory note; it was held that the attempt at ratification was void. The principal must have capacity as at the date of the contract. In Keln er v. Baxter where a promoter tried to ratify some pre-incorporation contracts it was held that he could not succeed as the contracts predated the company.